Musgrave Cork Chill Strike

regress · 20-04-2012 2:07pm #1

Musgrave workers begin strike action
Date: 19/04/2012 - Author: Louise Cashell

Workers at Musgrave began strike action yesterday after serving notice to the company last week. Grocery giant Musgrave, who are based on the Tramore Road, introduced voice technology headsets in the firm’s Cork Chill warehouse which is already being used at three other facilities in Cork and Dublin.

Eight workers were suspended last Wednesday when they refused to take part in training for the new technology while a further six were suspended on Monday for the same reasons.

The strike is based at two of the three gates leading in to the Musgrave complex. Musgrave offered its employees a five per cent pay-rise over three years in return for using the new technology or the workers could take a lesser pay-rise for less overnight shifts and Sunday work. One worker, who does not wish to be named, says that the workers are just looking to be treated fairly.

“We are looking for better terms and conditions to the offer that Musgrave has given us. The workers at the Fonthill (Dublin) branch were offered a better deal than we were. At the moment we are contracted to work 26 Sundays in the year and we have been offered a reduction so that it would be 22 Sundays instead but the Fonthill employees are contracted to work 13 Sundays in the year.

“The company has been dragging their heals about this. With the new technology, production will go up by 25 per cent so that means that we will all have an increase of 25 per cent to our workload. We feel that Musgrave could offer us a better deal and we just wanted to be treated fairly.”

The worker continued: “We served strike notice seven days ago and we decided to go ahead with the strike this morning because there was no change in the offer we were made by Musgrave. They haven’t come near us so far today and we will continue striking for as long as we need to.

"We don’t want to be in this position but we all feel that striking was our only option. We were backed in to a corner. We had no choice.”

Head of Communications for Musgrave, Sue Lamon-Diver said: “The strike is very disappointing for Musgrave. This is the first time that any Musgrave employee has gone on strike. It is a very small number of overall employees that are on strike.

"There is over 1000 employees in our warehouses in Cork and the majority of these workers came to work as normal today. We were served notice by SIPTU on behalf of its 135 members in our Cork Chill depot. We have been in negotiations with the Labour Court who then directed us to the Labour Relations Commission and we worked out a deal for our employees.

“The workers at Fonthill are contracted to work 19 Sundays in a year but they get paid less than the workers in Cork. We have exhausted all the correct procedures and there is nowhere else to go. We are calling on all the employees involved to return to work with immediate effect and to accept the terms of the Labour Court recommendations. We will have to wait and see what the workers do next.”

54kroc · 20-04-2012 2:14pm

Do they want more money for being more efficient at their job?
If they still start and finish at the same time as before why would they get more money.

userr1 · 20-04-2012 4:38pm

regress wrote: »

Musgrave workers begin strike action
Date: 19/04/2012 - Author: Louise Cashell

Workers at Musgrave began strike action yesterday after serving notice to the company last week. Grocery giant Musgrave, who are based on the Tramore Road, introduced voice technology headsets in the firm’s Cork Chill warehouse which is already being used at three other facilities in Cork and Dublin.

Eight workers were suspended last Wednesday when they refused to take part in training for the new technology while a further six were suspended on Monday for the same reasons.

The strike is based at two of the three gates leading in to the Musgrave complex. Musgrave offered its employees a five per cent pay-rise over three years in return for using the new technology or the workers could take a lesser pay-rise for less overnight shifts and Sunday work. One worker, who does not wish to be named, says that the workers are just looking to be treated fairly.

“We are looking for better terms and conditions to the offer that Musgrave has given us. The workers at the Fonthill (Dublin) branch were offered a better deal than we were. At the moment we are contracted to work 26 Sundays in the year and we have been offered a reduction so that it would be 22 Sundays instead but the Fonthill employees are contracted to work 13 Sundays in the year.

“The company has been dragging their heals about this. With the new technology, production will go up by 25 per cent so that means that we will all have an increase of 25 per cent to our workload. We feel that Musgrave could offer us a better deal and we just wanted to be treated fairly.”

The worker continued: “We served strike notice seven days ago and we decided to go ahead with the strike this morning because there was no change in the offer we were made by Musgrave. They haven’t come near us so far today and we will continue striking for as long as we need to.

"We don’t want to be in this position but we all feel that striking was our only option. We were backed in to a corner. We had no choice.”

Head of Communications for Musgrave, Sue Lamon-Diver said: “The strike is very disappointing for Musgrave. This is the first time that any Musgrave employee has gone on strike. It is a very small number of overall employees that are on strike.

"There is over 1000 employees in our warehouses in Cork and the majority of these workers came to work as normal today. We were served notice by SIPTU on behalf of its 135 members in our Cork Chill depot. We have been in negotiations with the Labour Court who then directed us to the Labour Relations Commission and we worked out a deal for our employees.

“The workers at Fonthill are contracted to work 19 Sundays in a year but they get paid less than the workers in Cork. We have exhausted all the correct procedures and there is nowhere else to go. We are calling on all the employees involved to return to work with immediate effect and to accept the terms of the Labour Court recommendations. We will have to wait and see what the workers do next.”

I work in the Fonthill site and we are rostered to work 25 Sundays. We DID NOT agree to work the voice picking system, it was imposed upon us by Musgrave following a Labour Court Reccommendation. It was the workers who referred the case to the Labour Court in relation to a Towards 2016 PAY issue only. In the spirit of the referral we would have accepted a yes or no answer and agreed to be bound by the outcome. The Labour Court then took it upon itself to force us to work additional Sundays, Voice Picking, rostering changes. All this for less than the rate of inflation in pay increases. Justice ???

54kroc · 20-04-2012 4:51pm

userr1 wrote: »

I work in the Fonthill site and we are rostered to work 25 Sundays. We DID NOT agree to work the voice picking system, it was imposed upon us by Musgrave following a Labour Court Reccommendation. It was the workers who referred the case to the Labour Court in relation to a Towards 2016 PAY issue only. In the spirit of the referral we would have accepted a yes or no answer and agreed to be bound by the outcome. The Labour Court then took it upon itself to force us to work additional Sundays, Voice Picking, rostering changes. All this for less than the rate of inflation in pay increases. Justice ???

Why do you have to agree to work the voice picking system?

regress · 20-04-2012 6:06pm

My understanding is that the voice system will mean the workers there will have to work harder as they will no longer have a break from walking back to office to pick up list. They will be told remotely what to pick next instead. Is this the issue? Are Musgraves pushing to make a hard and demanding job even harder? Or to put it another way seeking technological changes that will lead to more efficient and productive labour units.

userr1 · 20-04-2012 6:34pm

We agreed to be bound to the Labour Court's reccommendation. Given that the only issue referred in by us was pay, logically we assumed any reccommendation would only be in the context of pay. Unfortunately the Labour Court Judge Brendan Hayes took it upon himself to make all sorts of changes to our terms and conditions. Had we known that at the time we would never have referred the case in. We also didn't know that Mr. Hayes had been "appointed" by a Fianna Fail Minister rather than a fairer process of open application for candidates. It was questioned at the time if this was Fianna Fail putting one of their cronies into such an influential position.

gral6 · 20-04-2012 6:38pm

All this for less than the rate of inflation in pay increases. Justice ???

Are you talking about justice ? Just remember the way agency being treated in Fonthill and their pay too.The way your managers and employes treat agency over there is awful

regress · 20-04-2012 6:54pm

Is Musgraves plan to replace very highly paid workers with outsourced agency alternatives. Musgraves chill workers are on very big money for a job that although hard requires very little training, intelligence or skill.

gral6 · 20-04-2012 7:05pm

After voice pick system implementation contract workers are gonna have to WORK !
Anyway i have no sympathy for them after what i have seen in Fonthill

daryl2012 · 20-04-2012 7:12pm

regress wrote: »

Is Musgraves plan to replace very highly paid workers with outsourced agency alternatives. Musgraves chill workers are on very big money for a job that although hard requires very little training, intelligence or skill.

Heard in the local that they've hired around 50 agency people on short term contracts while the strike going on, tough times all round

54kroc · 20-04-2012 7:20pm

daryl2012 wrote: »

Heard in the local that they've hired around 50 agency people on short term contracts while the strike going on, tough times all round

The days of not crossing a picket line a well gone imo.

daryl2012 · 20-04-2012 8:40pm

54kroc wrote: »

The days of not crossing a picket line a well gone imo.

Without a doubt, the fact that theres 20+ people who've already done so tells me that something seems not quite right about this strike

Blitzkrieger · 20-04-2012 9:03pm

daryl2012 wrote: »

Without a doubt, the fact that theres 20+ people who've already done so tells me that something seems not quite right about this strike

Workers or customers? I know one customer who's planning on going to a different cash and carry next week if the strike isn't over....

regress · 20-04-2012 9:22pm

Strike only has a chance if Chill workers are supported by their colleagues. All indications are that their co workers will shaft them. If deliveries go out strike has no chance.

gral6 · 20-04-2012 10:25pm

You can ask Userr1 how strike ended in Fonthill 5 years ago

bladebrew · 21-04-2012 1:25am

My lord,
i thought this story was made up until i read it on various news sites,
If musgraves wanted 135 new employees tomorrow morning they would get them, and i heard it was a good place to work

5% pay rise and use a new system, brilliant, what exactly is the problem, i think the days of pay rise`s in most places are gone!

Dermighty · 21-04-2012 3:16am

54kroc wrote: »

Why do you have to agree to work the voice picking system?

Exactly.

If the employees had a concern about the voice communication they could have aired it to the company, instead of refusing to use it.

AFAIK the Musgrave business is different in Dublin than it is in Cork anyway, they're not that similar.

Blitzkrieger · 21-04-2012 8:55am

bladebrew wrote: »

i think the days of pay rise`s in most places are gone!

Some people would like you to think that. Plenty of Irish companies are still booming. Due to increases in taxes and other factors, inflation was 2.5% this year. A 5% pay rise over three years is in effect a pay cut. And the stike isn't just about pay and a new system - it's about shift schedules too. Personally, I'd hate to work 26 Sundays in a year. Half your Sundays gone? My family would forget my name....

hoodwinked · 21-04-2012 8:56am

maybe i am uneducated on the issues here but i really cannot see the downside?

they are making the job more efficient, introducing new technology and offering a pay rise to do so?

most companies do the first two without the third, i believe usually the 'bonus' is "free training".

as for the Sunday working, im sorry but if you work with a company who delivers to shops that are open 7 days a week, you work sundays, i would assume they still need daily deliveries.

so it seems to me that this strike makes no sense.

hoodwinked · 21-04-2012 8:57am

Blitzkrieger wrote: »

Some people would like you to think that. Plenty of Irish companies are still booming. Due to increases in taxes and other factors, inflation was 2.5% this year. A 5% pay rise over three years is in effect a pay cut. And the stike isn't just about pay and a new system - it's about shift schedules too. Personally, I'd hate to work 26 Sundays in a year. Half your Sundays gone? My family would forget my name....

can i just ask if you work a sunday do you work a 6 day week? or do you get a day off midweek?

gral6 · 21-04-2012 9:51am

http://www.indymedia.ie/article/82223?userlanguage=ga&save_prefs=true

garhjw · 21-04-2012 10:35am

sack the wasters. another example of parasitic unions. we wonder why the country is in the mess its in

userr1 · 21-04-2012 11:44am

Agency not the issue at hand. We're talking about full time workers' conditions being diminished. The agency workers are made fully aware of what the job requires of them and what they will be paid before they accept the offer. I agree it is not on a par with the full time employees but that's all that the company are willing to offer. That's not the fault of the employees.

gral6 · 21-04-2012 11:51am

Are ye going to strike in Fonhill too ? How many people were dismissed after last strike in Fonthill ?

Fishrman · 21-04-2012 11:53am

True. If you work in Liffey Valley or Blanch then you work Sundays. Live with it or leave. You cant work as a barman and expect to have all your Friday nights off!!

Ronan cork · 21-04-2012 1:27pm

It's a very well paid job, they should do what they're told to do and that's the end of it. They knew the terms when they took the job but now they've been made permanent they think they can make their own rules. Could you blame musgrave for hiring more temps when this is how their employees act? If they don't want to evolve with the company they can leave and see what minimum wage or the dole feels like.
I've absolutely no sympathy with them

bladebrew · 21-04-2012 1:54pm

Blitzkrieger wrote: »

Some people would like you to think that. Plenty of Irish companies are still booming. Due to increases in taxes and other factors, inflation was 2.5% this year. A 5% pay rise over three years is in effect a pay cut. And the stike isn't just about pay and a new system - it's about shift schedules too. Personally, I'd hate to work 26 Sundays in a year. Half your Sundays gone? My family would forget my name....

it is a good point about the pay rate and inflation but anyone mentioning a payrise in this day and age wont get much sympathy and judging by most of the comments on here they are not getting any sympathy!, i have heard over the last few years they are very well paid for the job they do,

and the sunday thing is a bit much, i would agree i would go mental if i had to work that many sundays,

bassboot · 21-04-2012 2:21pm

regress wrote: »

My understanding is that the voice system will mean the workers there will have to work harder as they will no longer have a break from walking back to office to pick up list. They will be told remotely what to pick next instead. Is this the issue? Are Musgraves pushing to make a hard and demanding job even harder? Or to put it another way seeking technological changes that will lead to more efficient and productive labour units.

The time you get to complete an order will be decreased significantly in certain cases, which will make it much harder for those who are paid a productivity bonus per hour. As it is the targets are tough to make. Cutting times will mean workers will be down money if they maintain their current level of productivity. There is also an issue regarding the impartiality of the person charged with re timing the work.

Ultimately this technology leads to job losses too. In the ambient warehouse an agreement was brokered only a few months ago to introduce this technology. Staff were assured that there would be no job losses, yet within weeks some staff were laid off and the company is trying to re draw the contract agreed. There is no trust that management will implement this system fairly, and with good cause.

bassboot · 21-04-2012 2:25pm

Blitzkrieger wrote: »

bladebrew wrote: »

i think the days of pay rise`s in most places are gone!

Some people would like you to think that. Plenty of Irish companies are still booming. Due to increases in taxes and other factors, inflation was 2.5% this year. A 5% pay rise over three years is in effect a pay cut. And the stike isn't just about pay and a new system - it's about shift schedules too. Personally, I'd hate to work 26 Sundays in a year. Half your Sundays gone? My family would forget my name....

Ask those who are contracted to work 46 Sundays out there how they'd feel about doing a meagre 26.

daryl2012 · 21-04-2012 3:21pm

These guys were told by their shop stewards and union rep that their cause was not going to be won, but they still voted to strike, that's plain madness.

54kroc · 21-04-2012 3:54pm

bassboot wrote: »

Ask those who are contracted to work 46 Sundays out there how they'd feel about doing a meagre 26.

They probably feel the same as every other worker in the country that has taken a cut in their wage.

Musgrave Cork Chill Strike

Comments